News

We have been covering the topic of social cannabis consumption for quite a while at The Weed Blog. Being based in Portland we would love to see Oregon be the first state to pioneer this area of the cannabis industry (and we are sure hopeful with Senate Bill 307 on the lines currently). However, some legislative activity in Nevada this past week might make the Silver State the first to have legalized and regulated social cannabis consumption clubs.So, will Nevada be the first state with cannabis clubs?

A bill allowing local governments to issue permits for marijuana social clubs has passed in the Nevada Senate.The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the bill passed 12-9 Tuesday and next will be reviewed by the Assembly. Lawmakers say tourists do not have a safe place to use recreational marijuana, which is legal in Nevada. They say this bill would give tourists a place to go and relieve some pressure off casinos and hotels. Andy Abboud, Las Vegas Sands Corp. senior vice president, says pot lounges in Clark County would be located on the Las Vegas Strip.

As we all know, other states allowing recreational/adult-use marijuana have discussed public social clubs, but no such bill has yet been passed. In Oregon, we were fortunate to have The World Famous Cannabis Cafe (WFCC) and have awesome event producers like Tokeativity who have been able to provide safe spaces for adults to consume cannabis together.

Madeline Martinez is the founder/sole-proprietress of The WFCC and she explained it perfectly.

“Moving forward we need and deserve safe, cannabis-friendly social venues in all legalized states. We [cannabis consumers]are law-abiding, taxpaying citizens and, given the opportunity, we choose to consume legally, out of public view, to protect the rights of consumers and non-consumers alike.”

A research initiative is hoping to get approval for a study that would require recruiting 25,000 marijuana consumers in Berlin.

According to The Local, the group called theResearch Initiative on Cannabis Consumption is hoping to get an application for a new study approved so that they can analyze the “consequences of cannabis for psychologically healthy, adult consumers”. The aim is to “understand what effects cannabis use has after several years”, according to the group, which was started by an attorney and a clinical psychology professor at the Medical School Hamburg.

The group reported last week that they submitted an updated application to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) for approval.

Germany officially legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes at the beginning of this year, allowing doctors to prescribe their seriously ill patients the drug if they believe it will bring about positive results. However, the research initiative is hoping to examine the effects of recreational use, which remains illegal.

So far 2,000 people have signed up to participate in the study within the first ten weeks of the search. The initiative leaders said that in selecting participants, they will “rule out anyone under 18, first-time pot smokers, as well as anyone with potential addiction or psychiatric problems.”

If the study obtains approval, participants would be allowed to pick up 30 grams of cannabis normally reserved for medical patients each month from a pharmacy.

“In Germany several million people regularly get high on cannabis,” wrote chief executive of the project Marko Dörre in a statement. “It is time that science becomes more engaged with recreational use.”

Anthony, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheJointBlog, has worked closely with numerous elected officials who support cannabis law reform, including as the former Campaign Manager for Washington State Representative Dave Upthegrove. He has also been published by multiple media outlets, including the Seattle Times. He can be reached at TheJointBlog@TheJointBlog.com.

Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney says Saturday’s raid at a warehouse hosting a pot-smoking party might have been “overkill.” Police arrested 22 people and seized more than 50 pounds of marijuana. About 175 people were allowed to leave without charges.

The mayor says he understands why police busted the party, citing the large amount of marijuana present and potentially dangerous conditions in the building.

But he says marijuana legalization is “the real solution.”

In 2014, the city made possession of small amounts of the drug punishable only by a citation and a fine, but marijuana sales weren’t decriminalized.

According to a new study, the decriminalization of marijuana in the Czech Republic has had no effect on the average starting age of those who consume the plant.

In 2010 the Czech Republic decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis and other drugs. A study being published by the International Journal of Drug Policy, and e-published ahead of print by the U.S. National Institute of Health, has found that this law change has had no effect on the age of onset of marijuana use.

For the study, researchers used “2012 survey data to examine the effect of a change in cannabis policy on the age of onset of cannabis use.” They estimated “the effect of the policy change using a mixed proportional hazards framework that models the transition to first cannabis use.

After examining the data, it was found that the change in cannabis policy “did not affect the transition to first cannabis use.”

Researchers conclude by stating; “We find no evidence of cannabis decriminalization affecting the age of onset of cannabis use.”

Anthony, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheJointBlog, has worked closely with numerous elected officials who support cannabis law reform, including as the former Campaign Manager for Washington State Representative Dave Upthegrove. He has also been published by multiple media outlets, including the Seattle Times. He can be reached at TheJointBlog@TheJointBlog.com.

On Monday, the Iowa State Senate passed an expanded medical marijuana proposal by a landslide. The vote was 45 “yes” to 5 “no”. This expansion would allow making and dispensing cannabis products in Iowa legal, as well as for adults to legally possess and use cannabis under a doctor’s care to treat an variety of medical conditions. The proposal is entitled “The Compassionate Use of Cannabis Act,” and, if it passes through the rest of the State’s Congress, would become a new law that would replace Iowa’s existing but limited cannabis oil statute.

This expansion could have great potential for cannabis policy reform overall, with Iowa being right in the middle of America’s heartland.

According to a local news outlet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa called The Gazette, this proposal lays out an expanded approach to reclassify marijuana and open it as a limited medical alternative under tight regulation and supervision.

“Let’s do the right thing for the people out there who are suffering,” said Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale. The bill was supported by 25 Republicans 19 Democrats and one independent, while four Republicans and one Democrat opposed it.

Under provisions of Senate File (SF) 506, Iowa would license up to four manufacturers to “possess, cultivate, transport or supply medical cannabis” by July 2, 2018, so up to 12 licensed dispensaries could begin distribution to qualified adult Iowans by July 16, 2018. Interested makers and dispensers would pay a non-refundable $15,000 state fee.

About a year ago, a poll was released that found that 78% of Iowans supported medical marijuana reform. While most of the public polled seemed to more broadly support medical marijuana as opposed to recreational/adutl-use marijuana, they have steadily become more comfortable.. The poll from last year was up from 58 percent in 2013.

The proposal will now go to the Iowa State House of Representatives, where it’s future is still uncertain. You can read the full text of The Compassionate Use of Cannabis Act here.

A majority of U.S. adults have tried marijuana at least once, according to new polling.

According to the new Yahoo/Marist poll, 52% of adults in the United States have consumed marijuana at least once, with 56% consider usage of the plant to be “socially acceptable.” The survey found an overwhelming majority of adults – 83% – to be in support of legalizing medical cannabis. A considerably lower number, but still a plurality (49% to 47%), support the legalization of cannabis for all uses.

Two-thirds of the poll’s respondents stated that the use of prescription drugs like Vicodin or OxyContin is “riskier” to use than cannabis, even when the drugs are rightfully prescribed by a doctor. Only one in five believe that marijuana is “riskier” than prescription opioids.

Among parents, only 21% consider marijuana use to be at the “top of their concerns” for their children, behind cigarette use (24%). 81% of parents – including 88% of those who have tried marijuana – believe it’s the right thing to do to tell their kids about their cannabis use. Despite this high number, 60% say that their parents did not talk to them about marijuana, including 95% of those in the Silent-Greatest Generation, and 72% of Baby-Boomers.

For a detailed summary of additional findings made by the Yahoo/Marist poll, click here.

Anthony, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheJointBlog, has worked closely with numerous elected officials who support cannabis law reform, including as the former Campaign Manager for Washington State Representative Dave Upthegrove. He has also been published by multiple media outlets, including the Seattle Times. He can be reached at TheJointBlog@TheJointBlog.com.

Editor’s note: The Denver Post opinion pages solicited commentary from various marijuana policy and industry leaders, as well as the public, for a special cannabis-themed edition of the Sunday Perspective section the weekend before 4/20. The Cannabist will be presenting these op-eds throughout the week.

It turns out we are more the rule than the exception here in Colorado: A majority of Americans now live in an area that allows legal access to recreational or medical marijuana. You only have to look to the success of Colorado to see why the legalization of cannabis has occurred throughout the nation.

Colorado has proven that allowing responsible adults to legally purchase marijuana gives money to classrooms rather than cartels; creates jobs rather than addicts; and boosts the economy rather than the prison population. Even still, the new Trump administration has failed to articulate a clear policy on where it stands on the federal regulation of marijuana. Instead, states and the industry have been trying to read between the lines of contradictory statements from the new administration.

Other states have decriminalized possession of marijuana or made medical marijuana accessible. The reality is that we can’t go backward.

At stake is a growing industry that has created 23,000 jobs and generated $200 million in tax revenue in Colorado. Nationally, the legal cannabis industry is projected to create a quarter million jobs by 2020 and have a sales growth of $13.3 billion.

There is a social impact to that uncertainty as well. Last year, I met a highly decorated veteran who sustained injuries after being wounded by a roadside IED while serving in Iraq. His story is a compelling one, not only for his commitment to our nation and personal strength, but also because he chose to cope with his injuries by using medical cannabis instead of opioids, which worked for him with far fewer severe side effects.

With the states and federal government seeking ways to combat the growing opioid crisis, there is evidence that medical marijuana could provide part of a solution. In 2014, data from the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that medical cannabis laws are associated with significantly lower (24.8 percent) state-level opioid overdose mortality rates.

Because of these reasons, I am not waiting for the administration to decide the fate of the marijuana industry. I have proposed several legislative changes that would solve the federal-state tension and continue to advocate that the new Trump administration leave in place existing policies while Congress works through the legislative process.

The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, a bill I just reintroduced, ends the federal prohibition on marijuana and establishes a federal regulatory structure that leaves states as the ultimate decision maker on marijuana legalization. Just as there is a legitimate federal interest in keeping alcohol and cigarettes (which have been met with some degree of success) out of the hands of minors, so too would there be renewed efforts to prevent minors from using marijuana.

In addition, I have worked across the aisle on an amendment that would prohibit the Dept. of Justice from using resources to interfere with state marijuana laws. Given how much the marijuana policy landscape has changed since November, I believe that this amendment has the support to pass. Finally, I started the bipartisan Congressional Cannabis Caucus to discuss and educate members of Congress on policy related to marijuana legalization, including access to mainstream financial services and tax revenue.

But until change to federal law can be made, the Trump administration should retain the Cole Memorandum, instead of pursuing a review of existing policies in a federal task force. Issued in 2013, the memorandum provided guidance to prosecutors and law enforcement on how to prioritize marijuana enforcement. The Cole Memo has allowed the federal government to prioritize investigating and stopping the illegal drug trade and associated crimes, instead of focusing on highly regulated industries, such as marijuana in Colorado.

The federal government can no longer turn a blind eye to this rapidly expanding industry. The Trump administration’s refusal to take a stance on the regulation of cannabis only further hinders our businesses and medical options, causing worry about arbitrarily or even politically motivated selective enforcement. I will continue to advocate and fight for pragmatic marijuana policy in Congress, and it’s about time our president tells us where exactly he stands on marijuana.

BISMARCK, N.D. — The Legislature on Thursday approved a set of rules to govern the use of medical marijuana in North Dakota, an uncomfortable compromise for many Republican lawmakers in the conservative state who were surprised that voters legalized it.

The Senate got the two-thirds majority vote needed to amend the citizen initiative, after the House did the same earlier this month.

GOP Gov. Doug Burgum said he would sign the legislation that establishes rules for the use of marijuana — including smoking it — as medicine for people who suffer from debilitating illnesses, including terminally ill patients.

“We want to make sure this product is available as the people have wished,” Burgum told reporters.

Fargo financial planner Rilie Ray Morgan headed the initiative campaign and said he and other backers are mostly satisfied with the new rules, but that another citizen initiative is possible if medical marijuana is not available in the state within the next year, as estimated by the state Health Department.

“If that doesn’t happen, there is going to be war,” he said.

Sixty-five percent of voters supported the measure in November, surprising lawmakers in the deeply conservative state and even the measure’s backers, who tried but failed to persuade the Legislature to legalize it two years ago.

The passage of the initiative sent the Health Department scrambling to solve a number of legal issues in connection with the medical marijuana law. The measure’s backers, though, accused regulators and the Legislature of attempting to add unwieldy restrictions, including one that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana only if a physician finds that no other form of the drug, such as a low-THC extract, would help.

That provision was taken out but a doctor or now a nurse practitioner still must recommend smoking marijuana as medicine for people who suffer from some diseases.

The bipartisan bill also removed provisions that would have allowed growing marijuana as medicine.

“This is a landmark piece of legislation,” GOP Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner told colleagues on the chamber floor. “We have gone where we have never gone before … and I think we have a piece of legislation that is as good as it could possibly be.”

Morgan, who suffers from chronic back pain, said cutting the growing-your-own provision is still not acceptable.

“We’re about 80 percent happy with the way it turned out,” he said.

Five out of every 1,000 North Dakotans are expected to use medical marijuana when it’s available, a threshold needed to fund planned oversight of the program, the state Health Department has said.

The state will spend more than $1 million to oversee the medical marijuana program over the next two years. The program is expected to raise $1.6 million during the 2017-19 budget cycle that begins on July 1. The program is estimated to cost $3.2 million in the following two-year budget cycle, and would be self-supported through fees to patients, approved growers and dispensaries, health officials said.

A bipartisan collection of nearly four-dozen U.S. House members want the feds to maintain their hands-off enforcement position toward states that have legalized medical marijuana.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican lawmaker from California, has spearheaded spending bill amendments that prevent the Justice Department from meddling in medical marijuana states. On Monday, he announced that he is urging the Commerce, Justice and Science committee chiefs to continue that path.

In a letter co-signed by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, and 42 other House of Representatives members, Rohrabacher asked the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies to include the following language in the fiscal year 2018 spending bill:

None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used to enforce federal prohibitions involving the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes that are permitted by the laws of the state, the District of Columbia, or U.S. territory where the act was committed, or to prevent states, the District of Columbia, or U.S. territories from implementing their own laws that permit the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes.

The language has been included in House appropriations bills since 2014, with a 219-189 vote, and again in 2015, by a 242-186 vote. The Senate Committee on Appropriations adopted similar language in 2015, by a vote of 22-8, and in 2016, by a vote of 21-8, Rohrabacher wrote.

“We believe that the consistent, bipartisan support for such protections against federal enforcement, combined with the fact that similar language has been in place since December 2014, make a strong case for including similar language in your base FY 2018 appropriations bill,” he wrote.

This year’s amendment, previously referred to as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, will carry the name Rohrabacher-Blumenauer, as co-sponsor Sam Farr, D-California, retired last year.

The proposed Rohrabacher-Blumenaeur amendment does not come free of contention.

Members of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action, an organization that opposes marijuana legalization, have said they would “cross-reference every House member” who signs the letter with reports documenting campaign contributions from the marijuana industry.

“We intend to investigate the legislators who do the pot industry’s bidding,” Kevin Sabet, SAM Action’s president, told The Cannabist Monday. “The American people should know who is doing the bidding of an industry whose goal is to promote addiction for profit.”

Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. She contributes to the Denver Post’s beer industry coverage. In her 13 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned the economy, Sports…

Glenwood Springs voters have agreed to join other area municipalities in assessing special taxes on the retail sale and transfer of recreational marijuana products within the city.

City voters, in the mail ballot election that concluded Tuesday, voted 1,205 to 813 to impose a new, local 5 percent tax on the sale of retail marijuana, as allowed under Colorado law. The tax could be increased in future years to as much as 15 percent without additional voter approval.

A separate question on the spring ballot asked to assess a separate 5 percent excise tax on wholesale transfers from a retail marijuana cultivation, manufacturing or testing facility to retail marijuana stores in Glenwood. That question passed 1,260 votes in favor to 764 against.

The taxes will be assessed on top of regular city, county and states sales taxes, as well as special marijuana taxes imposed by the state following the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado in 2012.

The city anticipates revenues from the taxes combined in excess of $500,000, based on current retail activity. Revenues are to be used for education and public health programs associated with legalized marijuana, enforcement of marijuana regulations and city infrastructure needs.

Some discussions have also taken place with the Valley Marijuana Council about using some of the marijuana tax revenues to help fund a regional detoxification facility, which the Glenwood Springs area has been lacking for several years.